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@Mel Hopkins WOW! I received your book! And I skimmed it. It is a lot! So, it will take me awhile to read it, but it has drawn me in! You're title seems so on point! It is filled with a lot of fact based setting and mixed in with supernatural forces and fantasy. You've taken me to Ethiopia, Jamaica, New York and I never lived in New York but you put me there. You've mentioned so many of my favorite and passionate ancient people! So far too, there is so much that makes me relive a lot of what you wrote about in my younger days. It is so refreshing to read from an author that brings to life my youth and my experiences. Wow! Okay, this is not 'my review', I've got to go to Starbucks, gets some coffee and get to reading. Wow! My boring research will never compare to your talent in how you can weave such a beautiful story based on facts. You are very talented. Brilliant. So far, I became caught up in the 'pink and green' setting! LOL My sister pleged AKA and my cuz/roommate too. And your book takes me back to memories in how I had to hide her from her 'big sisters'... and then guess what!? Uh... a year or two later, I pledged too.... ZETA! LOL. And my roommate had to hide me... we refused to go to probate show... I'm on the edge of my seat with 'Drew'. I felt like jumping through the pages... YOu bring back my memories of ... college cheerleading... basketball games... football games...my girlfriend dragging me out in the night to run down her no good, two timing boyfriend..... banging on the door.... and then me too, getting my girlfried to go with me in the night ... on a mission to bust that man ... in his game... I love the back cover too, You have a beautiful figure. You look like you should have been a beauty pageant winner. @Pioneer1 This is my problem. I have to think about this. But I love your list. @Kalexander2 Does the film count? I love this film and book too, but it was difficult to get through. @Troy Oh my Gosh! That was my favorite book! LOL. @CyniqueThe Dictionary was my bestest friend until 'smart lookup came along'.

Not necessarily in the order given, the following books are the most valuable information, I think, because of the real world issues they discuss or their metaphorical message(s) by both Black and White authors. Souls of Black Folk Up From Slavery The Fire Next Time Sharing Wisdom Metamorphosis The Great Gatsby To Kill a Mocking Bird If Americans Knew Critical Issues in Policing The Republic

1) Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. 2) The Alchemist by Paul Coehlo. 3) Surely you must be joking by Richard Feynman. 4) A Brief history of time Stephen Hawking. 5) The easy tarot guide by Marsha Marshino. 6) The Faces at the bottom of the well. by Derrick Bell. 7) Negrophobia by Darius James. 8) Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. 9) The places you'll go by Doctor Seuss. 10) Eastern and Western Mysteries David Alan Hulse.

I found it to be a difficult read. Another author said she was a difficult read.

@Cynique nope, definitely not an invisible man... Some writers and readers alike reference his work like it is a companion piece to "The Art of War." Funny thing, I'm all for woman empowerment but for some reason Pimp doesn't offend me - I think it's the raw emotion he puts forth about the battle of not letting his emotions get the best of him - even though at times it appears he wears his heart on his sleeve.

So basically you decide what or whose platform supports black people. by the way, most media outlets have stated they will no longer show the anthem portion of NFL games - most recently ESPN. So I guess, Colin Kaepernick has made an impact - because no more jingoism in televised sports. Any way, I gues you decide who has impacted someone's life in a positive way - and be damn the black men who ARE visible doing that damn thing ... LeBron James. And then you wonder why no one is interested in rank-in-file black men or reading about them ... they have no voice. Also since, you say I wouldn't understand because I'm not a black man - I guess we'll no longer hear from you about black women, right?

Spirit. Of A. Man,Vision. Of Transformation,For. Black. Men. And,The. Women. Who. Love. Them..Book. By,,Iyanla Vanzant..

i question this. i think if you took a survey today, not that many middle aged black men will have read this book. Most of those who did read it would be past middle age. Also, this book was not a literary work of fiction but was an extraordinary autobiograhy written by someone who was anything but a non-descript invisible black man.

Does the lack of authentic reading matter about middle-aged rank and file black men have anything to do with this group, itself, not being noted for being avid readers of any genre? If there was a spate of books written by black men about everyday invisible black men, would these everyday invisible black men buy and read these books? i doubt it. The chances of black women buying and reading these books are much higher. TV and movies fill the void that exists in the publishing world when it comes to middle-aged black men, who are too bogged down with being black and middle-aged that reading books that mirror their prosaic lifestyles pales in comparison to the escapism offered by the media. Sad but true, but English Lit courses and posterity are the prime audiences for literary fiction about a breed that has no self-awareness.

@Mel Hopkins "Lack of interest" = Apathy You asked for an example Mel and I repeated the one about Black novelist, but all of your examples don't address this genre. Gates and Tyson write nonfiction. I also said said entertainers like JayZ and Kendrick Lamar are not novelists at only get attention because they provide entertainment for and enrich white people... but I said I gave up trying to explain the difference. As far as James patterson is concerned white people can write about Black people all day long and get more attention than a Black writer. White folks created Black Panther. Black people created superheroes but they give no attention -- they are invisible. I actually do care, very much, who tells the story. It matters who tells the story not just for financial reasons but for truth. If you believe that the likes of, dean koontz, stephen king, neil gaiman, greg iles,et al, can write about Black men better than Black man... I don't know what to tell you. Kwame is my man too. I've know him 20 years, he put me on my first panel discussion related to books, but he writes children's books. He is not writing novels addressing the middle-aged Black men. Why is my simple case so hard to comprehend? This is a surprising statement. You mean don't read the likes of Toni Morrison, Bernice Mcfadden, Chimamanda Adichie? I was really focused on literary fiction in my argument

Well said, Mel Hopkins! To take your explanation a step further, fear as an emotion is indeed, a subjective innate response to any stimuli experienced by every human being. An infant existing the wound into a world of noise, light, and life may experience (still debatable) fear from the stimuli. Like other mammals, human fear is only different because we respond from a place of reason rather than instinct. Most mammals would probably not fight to the death for any reason whereas humans may resolve to fight to the death, not out of fearlessness but out of reason. The fear is still there. I'm inclined to think that any subjective emotion is a display of intelligence. Like people who say they "have a Constitutional right' to live, go and do as they please is probably more foolish than fearless. Although it is their Constitutional right. So the next time someone says "I can stand in the middle of the road if I want," prompt remind them a motorist' fear of being late may very well rob him/her of all rights!!

1) Sleeping with a D-Man by Mel Hopkins The Princessa by Harriet Rubin The Art of Learning (Read it Twice) by Josh Waitzkin Instant Millionaire by (read it twice) Mark Fischer Transitioning From Employee To Entrepreneur : A Road Map for Aspiring Entrepreneurs : Marvin L. Storm The Art of Profitability by Adrian J. Slywotzky 50th Law by 50 cent and Robert Greene Testament of Solomon by King Solomon Indiscretions by Yolanda Hooks Buick The Footprint of God by Greg Iles Are You There God, It's me Margaret by Judy Blume Just Morgan by Susan Beth Pfeffer

1. The Dictionary 2-10. The biographies of the many noteworthy people i have read over the years. Up until recently, i have been an avid reader all of my life, and i couldn't begin to narrow down the titles of all the fiction books i've read. If i finished them, then they impressed me. The dictionary has always been my enabler. Every word definition is a story unto itself.

Del was a good idea: Fun with Dick and Jane A Snowy Day World Book Encyclopedia Dr. Seuss Books (all) Charles Shultz Peanuts (all) Encyclopedia Brown (all) Alice in Wonderland Cane Beloved Who Owns the Future I know it looks like a crazy list; only 3 of the authors are Black and I've only added 4 of the books to this site. All of these books (and more) have stuck with me for one reason or another. #1 was the first book I remember reading. #2 was the first book I ever saw with a Black boy in it and I recall being surprised by the that--and I was really very young at the time.

There are so many............ These aren't in any particular order of importance and I'm sure there are some that SHOULD be included in the top 10 that I'm not thinking of right now but here are 10 just off the top: Message To The Black Man (The Honorable Elijah Muhammad) Up From Slavery (Booker T. Washington) The Phantom Tollbooth Black Labor White Wealth (Claud Anderson) Mein Kampf (Adolph Hitler) The Bible The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Alex Haily) Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill) Time Machine (H.G. Wells) Life After Life (Dr Raymond Moody) It's been years since I've read them and I don't have the best memory in the world to remember every detail of them, but I do remember how much I got caught up reading these book and just thinking about them still brings comfort to this day.